Weekly Quiz 2022
The Supreme Court
President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has weighed in on many cases over the years which have directly affected the Jewish community, including Greece v. Galloway (which upheld the right of governments to open public meetings with a religious prayer) and Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb (wherein the Court ruled that a synagogue that was desecrated with anti-Semitic graffiti could sue the perpetrator for “racially discriminatory interference with property rights.” A lower court had ruled that this so-called “white-on-white” crime was not a form of racial discrimination). In 1954, police in Springfield, Massachusetts, arrested Howard Chernock, owner of the Crown Kosher Super Market, following purchases made by the police at the store on three Sundays in violation of the state’s Blue Laws. The Blue Laws, first enacted in 1653, stated that “whoever, on the Lord’s day, keeps open his shop, warehouse or workhouse, or does any manner of labor, business or work, except those of necessity or charity, shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars.” The Massachusetts law did allow the market to open on Sunday, but only until 10:00am. Chernock was fined, but in response Chernock and some of his customers sued Raymond P. Gallagher, the Springfield police chief, claiming that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment (basically, that it violated their religious rights). The District Court ruled in Chernock’s favor, and Chief Gallagher appealed the case to the Supreme Court. What was the result of that appeal, in the case of Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Massachusetts?
Official portrait of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson by H2rty is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A. The Supreme Court upheld the District Court ruling in a 6-3 decision, noting that though the State might legally be able to require a day of no commercial operations, the Blue Laws clearly were based on the Christian view of Sunday as the Lord’s day of rest rather than a non-religious view of the best interests of the State.
B. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case. While the Court does not announce why it chooses not to take up any particular case, it was speculated that the Court saw absolutely no flaw in the ruling of the District Court, so left their ruling in place that the Blue Laws were unconstitutional.
C. The Supreme Court overturned the District Court ruling, stating in a 7-2 decision that, despite the original religious basis for the Blue Laws, these restrictions no longer had religious intent, and therefore the state had a right to declare a commercial day of rest.
D. The Supreme Court decided against Chernock and his customers, noting that since the Massachusetts law allowed him to operate until 10:00am, it was not valid to claim that there was a religious preference given to Christian theology. As a result, many states whose Blue Laws allowed no opening hours on Sunday changed their laws to allow very limited operating hours, but this ultimately led to hours being extended more and more, eventually leading to the revocation of most Blue Laws.
E. The nine member Supreme Court ruled 8-2 to uphold the Blue Laws, with the seven non-Jewish justices (Earl Warren, Hugo Black, Stanley Forman Reed, William O. Douglas, Robert H. Jackson, Harold Hitz Burton, and Tom C. Clark) all voting in favor, while the two Jewish members of the court (Felix Frankfurter and Arthur Goldberg), voted 1 in favor, 2 against, upholding the classic model of “2 Jews, 3 opinions.”
President’s Day
As we celebrate President’s Day we are reminded of how our country’s presidents, starting with George Washington, have had things to say about the Jews. In 1790, Washington wrote a letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island saying, “May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.” Other presidents have offered praise about the Jews. Warren G. Harding wrote, “One of the marvels of humanity’s story has been the strength and persistence of the Jewish faith and its continuing influence and power of the Jewish people.” Calvin Coolidge spoke at the dedication of the Jewish Community Center building in Washington DC, saying “The Jewish faith is predominantly the faith of liberty.” And John Adams wrote, “I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize man than any other nation.” On the other hand, Richard Nixon said, “The Jews are born spies,” and “Most Jews are disloyal.” Which of the following was NOT said by Donald Trump?
George Washington by Rembrandt Peale is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A. “There’s people in this country that are Jewish and no longer love Israel.”
B. “The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.”
C. “If you want to vote Democrat, you are being very disloyal to Jewish people and very disloyal to Israel.”
D. “The evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country.”
E. “Jesus Christ couldn’t please them [Jews] when he was here on earth, so how could anyone expect that I would have any luck?”
Montreal Bagels
Canada has been dealing with a growing truckers’ protest over the last few weeks, which began in response to a vaccine mandate for drivers entering from the United States. The truckers have been disrupting traffic across the country by parking their rigs on major streets and blocking large intersections, as well as shutting down the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit. This has resulted in major disruption to the automobile manufacturing industry. Canadian police are now trying to disperse the protesters. The first group of Jews arrived in Canada in 1760, comprising fur traders, merchants and soldiers. The population slowly grew, especially after 1832 when Jews gained full rights as British subjects. It is estimated that there are roughly 350,000 Jews in Canada today, with the largest concentration in Toronto. One of the most significant contributions of Canada’s Jews is the Montreal bagel, which is very different from the classic New York bagel. Montreal bagels include sour dough, tend to be smaller than New York bagels, and have a larger hole. Most importantly, they are boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked. What is one unusual situation where Montreal bagels made an appearance?
St-Viateur Bagel by Julia Manzerova is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
A. Astronauts on the International Space Station are allowed to make a “wish list” of food or other items they want to take with them on their extended journey to space. Canadian astronaut Greg Chamitoff chose to bring 18 sesame seed Montreal bagels with him for his 6-month stay on the International Space Station in 2008. It is not known if he also brought cream cheese.
B. Expo 67 was the World’s Fair held in Montreal in 1967, with 62 nations participating in what is still considered one of the most successful world’s fairs ever. The event included a long list of famous entertainers, such as the Supremes, Petula Clark, Thelonious Monk, and the Grateful Dead. Noteworthy visitors to the fair included Queen Elizabeth II, Lyndon B. Johnson, Princess Grace of Monaco, Haile Selassie, Charles de Gaulle, and Marlene Dietrich. Organizers of Expo 67 created gift bags that were handed out to performers, celebrities, politicians and other noted guests. Among the items in the gift bag were bottles of maple syrup, hockey pucks emblazoned with the logo of the Montreal Canadiens, an honorary Royal Canadian Mounted Police badge, and a Montreal bagel.
C. Jewish Canadian rapper Drake held a “Re-Bar Mitzvah” in 2017, which included his participation in Shabbat services followed by a huge celebration attended by celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx and Odell Beckham Jr. During the service, Drake was called to the Torah for an aliyah, after which he was pelted, not with candy as is traditional, but by mini-Montreal bagels that had been distributed to the guests.
D. Queen Elizabeth last visited Canada in 2010. On that trip, Charles Bronfman, the businessman and philanthopist, arranged a visit by the Queen to the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, Canada’s oldest Jewish house of worship, which was established in 1768. At that visit the Queen met with leaders of the Toronto Jewish community and enjoyed a lunch of Montreal bagels with cream cheese and lox.
E. UJA Federation of Greater Toronto sponsors an annual Jewish Day School Hockey tournament, but instead of using a hockey puck, which could be very dangerous for young children, the games are played using Montreal bagels. Seeded bagels, however, are not allowed.
Jewish Music at the Olympics
Jason Brown is a Jewish figure skater who will be representing the United States at the Beijing Olympic Games. He has won numerous events in the past, including 9 medals at Grand Prix international events, the 2015 United States National Championship, and a bronze medal in a team event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. In 2019 Brown began using the music from Schindler’s List as the accompaniment for his routines. Explained Brown, “I have really loved tapping into the heart and soul of the piece.” He will be presenting a free skate routine to this music later this week. Jewish music has been used before at the Olympics, most notably by Jewish American Aly Raisman, who performed her gold medal winning gymnastics floor exercise to Hava Nagila at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Raisman dedicated her medal to the 11 Israeli Olympians who were killed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. A more controversial use of Jewish music took place at the Rio Olympics in 2016, when an athlete competed to a klezmer song, Kol Ha’Olam Kulo. The melody to Kol Ha’Olam Kulo was written by Rabbi Baruch Chait utilizing words by Reb Nachman, the founder of the Breslover Hasidic movement. Why did Rabbi Chait object to the use of that song at the Olympics?
Jason Brown during the gala at the Internationaux de France de Patinage 2018 by Rama is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A. Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Japanese gymnast Sae Miyakawa during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that her routine was “not very modest.”
B. Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Turkish gymnast Tutya Yılmaz during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that the music “is not appropriate for a Muslim athlete.”
C. Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Japanese gymnast Sae Miyakawa during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that the music “is a matter of sanctity that cannot be used for just anything.”
D. Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Israeli rhythmic gymnast Neta Rivkin during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that “a woman should not be performing to the music of our Rebbe in a public place. Only a man is allowed to do that.”
E. Rabbi Chait objected when the song was used to accompany Japanese gymnast Sae Miyakawa during her floor routine. Rabbi Chait stated that her routine was “not very modest” and the music “is a matter of sanctity that cannot be used for just anything” and, by the way, he should have been paid royalties.